There are as many recipes for eggplant caponata as there are cooks! There are two main approaches for preparing it — finely chopped and used as a relish on bread or polenta, or coarsely chopped and served almost like an Italian version of ratatouille.
Caponata Ingredients
The only constants in caponata are eggplants, onions, olive oil, vinegar, and some sort of tomato product, either tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes or both. You can also include pine nuts, raisins, capers, olives, celery, basil, bell peppers, garlic, parsley, and/or oregano. Feel free to play with combinations of ingredients to see what suits your taste! Tucked away in funky Bernal Heights, my old neighborhood in San Francisco, used to lie an Italian trattoria which served exceptional Italian food. The restaurant is long gone, but I still remember fondly the eggplant caponata condiment they served with bread sticks that accompanied every meal. I have no idea if the following caponata recipe is even close to the recipe that the restaurant used, but it is certainly in the right direction. If you don’t eat all your caponata at one sitting, it keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days, and is even better on the second or third day, after the flavors have had a chance to meld.
More Delicious Eggplant Recipes
Eggplant Caviar Baba Ganoush Eggplant Caponata Pasta
Drain the eggplant, rinse with fresh water and pat dry with paper towels. Add the garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes more. Remove from the skillet and set aside. Add the eggplant and spread it out in as thin a layer as you can in the skillet. Let this sizzle for 1-2 minutes before stirring, then let it sit for a full minute before stirring again. Cook like this for 5-6 minutes. Cook, stirring occasionally until eggplant is very soft, about 8 minutes. Caponata can be refrigerated, covered, up to 5 days.
